SWITZERLAND: Global car makers are competing to show their green credentials at the Geneva motor show this week
- 00:01:24
- ITN Source
SWITZERLAND: Global car makers are competing to show their green credentials at the Geneva motor show this week
The 77th Geneva car show opened Tuesday (March 6) - and global car makers have a chance to show their green credentials. Although the automobile industry has split into many niche markets ranging from fast and sporty cars to family vehicles, environmentally-friendly cars are a huge highlight of this year's show in Geneva - and many manufacturers have come up with concept cars that might not be too futuristic after all. Saab hits hard with its BioPower 100 concept car that runs on pure bioethanol, a concept version of the 9-5 line-up. Another highlight was Italdesign-Giugiaro's Vad.Ho concept car, a demonstration that even fast cars can be cleaner. Vad.Ho is a concept racing car whose eight-cylinder engine burns hydrogen and thus emits only water vapour. The passenger sits behind the driver, who controls the car with joysticks. Mercedes comes with its Vision C 220 BLUETEC, a four-cylinder consumption-optimised engine. Rated at 125 kW (170hp), it consumes 5.5 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres. Developed by Daimler-Chrysler, the Bluetec technology was designed to reduce diesel emissions. EU proposals are aiming to cut CO2 emissions to a maximum of 120 gr/km by 2012, but industry executives remain unconvinced that consumers are ready to pay the extra costs of super-clean cars unless governments provide encouragement via taxes. "We are convinced that our customers have to decide what kind of wheels they want to buy. An advanced bluetec engine, or an advanced gasoline engine, both of them in combination with a hybrid or, last but not least, a zero emission fuel powered vehicle, and we are preparing all these technologies, therefore I think we are well prepared for this hard market environment," said Thomas Weber, the Mercedes Board member in charge of development. "I believe that we are really able to compete with Toyota on the in the international market," he added. Toyota, the Japanese firm to pioneer mass production of low pollution petrol-electric vehicles along with Honda, is introducing two concept hybrid cars this year. The Hybrid X signals future design trends for its range of cars combining electric and standard combustion engines to reduce fuel consumption. The FT-HS (Future Toyota Hybrid Sports), a concept car of what the 21st century's sports car could be, with its front-engine and rest to 62mph acceleration in the four-second range. The manufacturer's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology is at the core of its strategy of developing and implementing technologies that reduce the impact of cars on the environment. The FT-HS is their latest demonstration of the potential of a hybrid technology in delivering sporty and glamorous cars, which can appeal to consumers in search of fast driving experiences.
ITN Source | March 10, 2007
